Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with regional partners on the humanitarian situation in Haiti.

We continue to work with our international partners to build a coordinated and coherent response so international support can reach people in need. I [Minister Rutley] have engaged significantly on this issue, discussing it with regional and international partners over many months. I most recently engaged with Caribbean partners during my attendance at the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Guyana on 26 February, where I discussed concerns about - and options to respond to - the security situation in Haiti with interlocuters. The difficult security situation within Haiti has impeded humanitarian access and we will continue to work with our international partners to build a coordinated and coherent response so international support can reach people in need. It is clear that the climate of insecurity is driving Haiti's humanitarian needs, and we hope that deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti, to which the Foreign Secretary announced a £5 million ODA contribution on 9 April, will improve this.